How to Swim Freestyle

Line it up. When properly swimming freestyle, always remember to keep the top of your head aligned with your spine. The body should always remain aligned to experience the best, and fastest, swim.

Keep eyes focused. When not taking breaths, the eyes should be looking down at the bottom of the pool. When taking breaths, eyes should be kept directly over each other so that they align vertically.

Rotate the body around central axis of spine when moving. As each arm pulls forward to tread water, the entire body should make slight rotations to the side, and then back to the other side. Your low shoulder should be on the pulling arm side and the high shoulder will be on the recovery arm side.

Overlap the hands in front of the face as the arms take turns working in a propeller-like motion. The patterns of this overlap may vary depending on the amount of effort and speed you are shooting for.

Draw a line from fingertips to wrist with the elbow pointing at the bottom of the pool as much of the time as possible. The more the elbow descends into the water, the more strokes you are swimming, moving yourself forward through the water. Use maximum strength and force possible during the catch, holding it until the hand passes below the waist.

Maintain a connection between the shoulders and the hips, and try to begin all rotations from the hip area.

Keep legs strong. The kick should not overpower the pull but complement it. You can kick as fast or slow as is comfortable for you.

Keep feet kicking. The longer a kick pattern is maintained, the faster you'll swim. Kicking faster will cause your arms to go faster which results in faster swimming. It can also be exhausting if it's a pace not practiced often.

Breathe. Breathe with every 1.5 to 2 pulls of the arms.